South by Southwest Conference and Festivals announced the lineup for 32nd edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival which is set to take place March 7-15 in Austin, TX.
There is a diverse array of LGBTQ narratives, characters, and creators Among the films, shorts, and TV series at the fest including opening night film, Another Simple Favor which features Andrew Rannells and Alex Newell joining Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Henry Golding, and Allison Janney
Director Paul Feig returns with the sequel which reunites Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) on the island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding. As with its predecessor, expect murder, betrayal, twists and turns in this follow up to the 2018 dramatic thriller.
In Elena Oxman‘s Outlerlands stars Asia Kate Dillon (who also produces) in a story about
Cass who is confronted with the truth of their own childhood after they are asked by a woman to watch her 11-year-old daughter while she goes out of town.
Artist Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons team for Assembly, a documentary about how art transforms a former military facility into a Black queer utopia. In Siobhan’s McCarthy‘s comedy She’s The He starring Misha Osherovich and Nico Carney which follows two friends who pretend to be trans women to get into the girl’s lockers — it’s a joke that makes Ethan realizes she really is trans. And the Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror dives deep into the origins of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the biggest cult films — and queer touchstones of all time.
Queer titles will be playing alongside the fest’s Opening Night TV Premiere of Seth Rogen‘s The Studio as well as Alex Sharfman’s Death of a Unicorn, Ben Affleck’s The Accountant 2, and H.E.R.’s The Makings of Curtis Mayfield.
Feature films in the SXSW 2025 lineup screen in the following categories: Headliner; Narrative Feature Competition; Documentary Feature Competition; Narrative Spotlight; Documentary Spotlight; Visions; Midnighter; Global presented; 24 Beats Per Second; Festival Favorite, and Special Event. The TV program consists of TV Premiere, TV Spotlight, and the Independent TV Pilot Competition.
The SXSW 2025 Shorts Film Program will present six competitive sections. XR Experience Competition, XR Spotlight and XR Special Event programming round out the Film & TV Festival program. All Categories will be eligible for section-specific Audience Awards.
View the full lineup for SXSW Film & TV Festival here.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Fucktoys
Director/Screenwriter: Annapurna Sriram, Producer: Timothy Petryni
Join AP on a bubblegum grindhouse adventure through sunny and romantic Trashtown, USA. In this raucous odyssey, a wanton minx quests hard across a dreamy landscape of smut, filth and psychics, hustling to lift a curse that has been f-cking her sh-t up. Cast: Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Francois Arnaud, Damian Young, Big Freedia, Brandon Flynn, Lorrie Odom, Jowin Batoon, Tamika Lawrence, Arianna Ortiz (World Premiere)
Outlerlands
Director/Screenwriter: Elena Oxman, Producers: Marc Smolowitz, Elena Oxman, Asia Kate Dillon, Allison Estrin, Henry Russell Bergstein
When Cass (they/them) is asked by an alluring woman to watch her 11-year-old daughter while she goes out of town, Cass is forced to confront the truth of their own tumultuous childhood. Cast: Asia Kate Dillon, Louisa Krause, Ridley Asha Bateman, Lea DeLaria, Daniel K. Isaac, Melinda Meeng, Allie Heng, Winter Dewitt, Safia Fredericks, Sedrick Cabrera (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Assembly
Directors/Producers/Screenwriters: Rashaad Newsome, Johnny Symons
Visionary artist Rashaad Newsome merges art, AI, and performance to transform a former military facility into a Black queer utopia. Through immersive storytelling and visuals, the film explores how creativity can heal, unite, and spark liberation. (World Premiere)
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Forge
Director/Screenwriter: Jing Ai Ng, Producers: Liz Daering-Glass, Gabrielle Cordero, Jing Ai Ng, Damian Bao
In Miami, siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang’s art forgery ring flourishes when they encounter a disgraced millionaire in need of their expertise. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves to Miami to investigate a series of mysterious paintings. Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Andie Ju, Brandon Soo Hoo, Edmund Donovan, Eva De Dominici, T. R. Knight, Jack Falahee, Sonya Walger (World Premiere)
I Really Love My Husband
Director/Screenwriter: GG Hawkins, Producer: Elle Roth-Brunet
When a woman grows disillusioned with her golden-boy husband during their tropical honeymoon, she recruits an enigmatic expat to spice things up—for better or worse. Cast: Madison Lanesey, Travis Quentin Young, Arta Gee, Lisa Jacqueline Starrett, Elizabeth de Robbins, Armodio Sophia, Meggan Taylor, Mitch Bisschop, Amberlin Morse (World Premiere)
O’Dessa
Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl, Rodrigo Teixeira
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Kelly Macdonald, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)
She’s The He
Director/Screenwriter: Siobhan McCarthy, Producers: Halley Albert, Vic Brandt
Just before graduation, Alex and Ethan pretend to be trans women to get into the girl’s lockers. It’s all a joke until Ethan realizes: she really is trans. Alex and Ethan must reckon with their changing friendship and the process of coming out. Cast: Misha Osherovich, Nico Carney, Suzanne Cryer, Mark Indelicato, Malia Pyles, Emmett Preciado, Tatiana Ringsby, Aparna Nancherla, Kyle Butenhoff, Emma Orr (World Premiere)
The Threesome
Director: Chad Hartigan, Producers: Tim White, Trevor White, Vince Jolivette, Steve Shapiro, Screenwriter: Ethan Ogilby
A young man’s crush leads him into an unexpected threesome… What’s the worst that could happen? Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, Julia Sweeney (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Creede U.S.A.
Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman
In tiny Creede, CO, conservative mining families and progressive theater people have been trying to negotiate their differences for 60 years. When the same issues polarizing America ripple through the town, can it maintain its fragile coexistence? (World Premiere)
Make It Look Real (Australia)
Director/Screenwriter: Kate Blackmore, Producers: Bethany Bruce, Daniel Joyce
Intimacy coordinator Claire Warden guides actors through sex scenes for a new film Tightrope, negotiating the vision of a director, the physical and psychological needs of the actors, and a documentary crew filming her every move. (International Premiere)
Seen and Heard
Directors: Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen, Producers: Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen, Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
From executive producer Issa Rae, Seen and Heard is a two-part documentary that travels through time, creating a kaleidoscopic portrait of Black talent being “seen,” to Black creatives being “heard,” shaping today’s Golden Age of Black television. Featuring Issa Rae, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, Lena Waithe, Cord Jefferson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Swizz Beatz, Norman Lear (World Premiere)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Director: Linus O’Brien, Producers: Adam Gibbs, Garret Price, Avner Shiloah, Linus O’Brien, Screenwriter: Avner Shiloah
A wild journey into the origins of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the biggest cult film of all time, its impact on popular culture and socio-political resonance to this day. Featuring Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, Lou Adler, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick (World Premiere)
GLOBAL
Trans Memoria (Sweden)
Director/Screenwriter: Victoria Verseau, Producers: Malin Hüber, Mathilde Raczymow
In an exploration of self-discovery, Victoria, Athena and Aamina navigate womanhood through loss and introspection, weaving past regrets and future aspirations in a poetic documentation of embracing true selves. (U.S. Premiere)
FESTIVAL FAVORITE
Touch Me
Director/Screenwriter: Addison Heimann, Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr., Addison Heimann
Touch Me is a story about two codependent best friends who become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster, JJ Philips, Yumarie Morales, Ashley Lauren Nedd, Eli Lucas (Texas Premiere)
INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION
Denim
Showrunner/Director/Producer: Tedra Wilson
Denim is a fantastical doc series illuminating the brilliant minds of LGBTQIA+ creatives who showcase how they use their art as a form of self discovery. (World Premiere)
R&R
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: JJ Herz
Co-dependent twins Robbie (a responsible, hopeless romantic with Down syndrome) and Rachel (a raunchy, gay mess) tackle a chaotic, yet typical day in their lives. Cast: Kevin Iannucci, JJ Herz (World Premiere)
NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION
Brief Somebodies (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Andy Reid, Producer: Alessandra Sconza
While rehearsing a sexual assault scene, a pair of actors form a connection they’ll be forced to reconfigure once filming begins. (World Premiere)
I’m The Most Racist Person I Know (Australia)
Director/Screenwriter: Leela Varghese, Producer: Suriyna Sivashanker
When Lali unexpectedly ends up on a date with another woman of color for the first time, it unravels prejudices she has long ignored. (World Premiere)
Yú Cì (Fish Bones)
Director/Screenwriter: Kevin Xian Ming Yu, Producers: Shayan Ajmal Farooq, Camila Grimaldi, Kevin Xian Ming Yu
Bowen, a nonbinary Asian-American from Queens, tries to connect with their estranged father and help him deal with a poisonous fish bite. (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SHORT COMPETITION
Camp Widow
Directors/Producers: Laura Green, Anna Moot-Levin
An immersion into a weekend gathering of “widows” (people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations), this unexpected re-writing of the story of what it is to be a “widow” is by turns devastating and unexpectedly funny. (World Premiere)
MIDNIGHT SHORT
Familiar (France)
Director/Screenwriter: Marco Novoa, Producers: Clémence Crépin Neel, Igor Courtecuisse
Steve is kicked out by his parents, who do not accept his homosexuality. Caroline, on the other hand, is struggling to mourn her motherhood as she accompanies Youri on tour. (North American Premiere)
Last Call (U.S., Australia, Hong Kong)
Director: Winnie Cheung, Screenwriters: Andujar Twins, Winnie Cheung, Producers: Weston Auburn, Travis Wood, Celia Au, Amanda Kreuger
A motorcycle rebel spirals deeper into her erotic hallucinations to escape the grip of a sultry serpent woman. (World Premiere)
TEXAS SHORT COMPETITION
Newbies
Directors/Screenwriters: Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence, Megan Trufant Tillman, Producers: Stephanie Roush, Melissa Louis-Jacques
Two broken strangers wrestling with their queer identities meet on the subway just after midnight. A poignant, poetic journey through the past few hours of their night reveals how they got here, and what broke them. (World Premiere)
Sweetbriar
Director/Screenwriter: Danny Rivera, Producer: MK Goss
A love letter to mothers that blends scripted and documentary. Sweetbriar features the director’s own mother, Violeta Salazar, as a woman taking great pride in her home as she prepares to host her visiting queer son. (World Premiere)